Published: January 25, 2017
After recovering from civil war, Côte d’Ivoire had been a bright spot amid growing gloom in Sub-Saharan Africa
A political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire threatens to overshadow one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s few remaining investment bright spots. Mutinying soldiers took to the streets of several cities in January, demanding better pay and conditions, while gendarmes sealed off a key export facility in the commercial capital of Abidjan.
The mutiny came just under a month after Côte d’Ivoire’s general elections, the first since the country had voted to rewrite its constitution. Soldiers, many of whom are from the Forces Nouvelles, a group that supported the president during the country’s last civil conflict, demanded bonuses of US$8,000 and a house each, as well as payment of back pay and promotions.